So Long And Good Night
by Crystal Child
Summary: I was always alone. We were always alone. Paint it all red, and make it all burn. And celebrate the inevitable end that we knew we couldn't escape. Because the seal is broken, and I might never see you again. SasuNaruSasu


_Dark sailors pushed to the shore,_

_to the shore,_

_Unwelcome, but unstoppable._

_Dark hearts called for the shore,_

_for the shore._

_And for the gates they did cry,_

"_Open, open, "_

_Unanswered silence; the reply._

_Dark souls walk the sandy beach_

_to the shore_

_to the shore they rise._

_Welcome, ye dead and dying all,_

_To the shrine._

_To the shrine._

The incense kept the small building enshrouded in a mist at all times, making it an eerie, silent place. They treaded carefully up the overgrown stone-laid path; eyes open, fingers on weapons, but were met with no resistance.

"It's been abandoned." One of the figures murmured, stepping carefully up to the front stairs, "Why would they abandon it?"

"It's not our place to question." A second moved up the molding wooden stairs, and paused to trail a finger down a gold-painted totem, "We have a job."

"Is it worth our lives?"

There was a malicious smile in the answer, "Maybe not…but it's certainly worth theirs."

The glint of a katana flashed through the misted afternoon, and the rice paper doors fell, "Take what we need." He stepped in and the others flowed around him like black water, "Destroy the rest."

Somewhere, deep in the heart of Fire Country, the Nine Tail Demon's seal began to fray.

**So Long and Good Night**

**Chapter One**

A cry went out across Konoha, late in the evening near the end of summer.

_The Uchiha District is burning._

The sky was ablaze.

_Where is Sasuke?_

The black haired boy stood just beyond the massive gates, feeling the heat wash over him. It seemed the perfect end to a long, confusing summer. He watched a building crumble and fall.

_There's nothing we can do, it's too late._

So they watched it burn, long into the night.

And in the morning, came the _Kyuubi__no__Meinichi_.

* * *

><p>If anything was the trigger, Naruto would later say, it was watching Sasuke as the two, along with the rest of Team 7, moved through the rubble of the Uchiha District, that started the mess that eventually followed. It wasn't that there was anything different from the normal asshole.<p>

And maybe that was the problem.

The blonde stepped carefully over what looked to be the remains of a chair and shot a glance at the stoic teen. The other was wearing his black shirt and white shorts, and seemed wholly concentrating on the ground just in front of his feet. Something was weird about this situation.

He shrugged to himself. Oh well, whatever. Wasn't like he actually _cared_ what the black-haired teen was thinking. Though he did suddenly become intently curious, when he saw the other stumble.

He snickered as Sasuke straightened from catching himself, and shot a glare at him.

"And your fangirls say you're graceful."

Sasuke shot him a smirk. _Shit._

"At least I have fangirls."

_Damn it._

"Naa, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto turned his head a bit, catching the soft sound of Sakura's voice far to his left. He frowned, wondering why he could hear her from this distance. "Who would do something like this?"

Kakashi, for once not stuck in one of his dirty novels, didn't reply, shoving his hands in his pockets and surveying the flattened plain.

"Do you think…maybe it could have been…his brother?"

Sasuke must have heard that, surely. Naruto flipped his eyes to his other side, but Sasuke was standing with his back to them, staring at a pile on the ground. Naruto's frown grew. Maybe he was just too lost in thought.

He stared at him until Sasuke finally moved, shifted his weight and looked up.

Eventually, the raven-haired teen turned, and their eyes met. For a second, Naruto thought Sasuke might actually say something, give some sort of signal, _do_ something that was meant just for him. But the teen finally shrugged, and called, "Kakashi-sensei. Let's go, we're going to be late." And abruptly turned and headed for the gate.

Naruto watched him go, with a growing sense of unease.

Eventually, he followed.

* * *

><p>If there was one time of year Naruto couldn't handle the pressures of being the vassal of the Kyuubi, it was the week of his birthday. Therefore, after he had finished helping Sasuke and Sakura hang banners on the main street, he had retreated to his apartment.<p>

_Kyuubi__no__Meinichi_, festival of the death of the Kyuubi. Not that anyone believed for a second that the fox-demon was dead. The week was more a celebration of the lives of those who had died in that awful battle. And a week spent cursing the smiling blonde. It had been easier, when he was younger, because he could simply tune them all out. But he had become more aware of himself and his surroundings. His friends had tried to stay with him, last year, tried to stand up for him when they drug him out for the first night's party, but there's only so much a group of teens can do against a mass of bias adults.

He had told them to stay and enjoy themselves and had fled to the safety of his bedroom. Someone knocked on his door, he remembered, but eventually they had left.

So, he settled in. Pulled his blanket from its rumpled state and wrapped it around his lean body, and leaned against his window.

People were hurrying towards Main Street in huddled groups, dressed in beautiful yukata and kimono. Hard blue eyes watched them go, and he wished he could be angry or jealous of them. But what would that change?

As the last bit of the sun vanished beneath the treeline, the sky lit with an explosion of fireworks.

He almost missed the gentle knocking on his door.

* * *

><p>Electric blue.<p>

He watched the color streak into the night and explode, heard the far-off cheering of the crowds of people. Stupid, silly, ridiculous event. A party for the dead. He hoped when he was dead, no one would notice and no one would make a big deal.

The sky lit with another brilliant flash and he blinked, glanced down at the remains of his home.

_Push. Push. Until it all breaks down._

His eyes scanned the buildings, pausing on an apartment complex for a moment, before moving on.

From the top of the Third Hokage's head he had a perfect view of Konoha. _Home_. His brain supplied, but he silently scoffed the thought Never home. Just the place to come back to.

Not so much anymore. Scarlet red exploded into life and quickly died, falling back towards the earth. It made him remember the brilliant light of the fire, watching everything he'd ever known burn and fall into nothing.

They'd launched an investigation, and he didn't bother correcting them on anything, let them guess and assume and pretend they understood. How horrible for such a young boy to lose the only pieces of his family he had left. How horrible.

His eyes caught, as he surveyed the town again, on that same apartment building, and frowned. Were those ANBU? He wondered what they were doing, but they looked like they were just relaxing on the roof. It didn't sit well with him.

Especially knowing who was probably the only person in the building at the moment.

He sighed and rose, adjusting his shoulders, and went to go see the only other person who was probably as miserable as himself this warm night.

* * *

><p>AN: Hello, again, Naruto-fandom. It's been a while<p> 


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